[hortoncode3]

2009 G5 Military....thought I smelled gas the other day after a 200 mile ride..thought to myself "it's time to change the fuel line... " Unfortunately...it wasn't the fuel line....one of the rear mounting ears on the  tank apparently cracked at the weld. With any luck RE will cover it as I bought this bike as a hold over in 2011...OR my "guy" at the Daily Rider will have to fix it...I would LOVE to convert the tank to the extra capacity but I guess it's not being made for an electric fuel pump ....

[Ducati Scotty]

This is a known failure and has been noted here a few times.  RE has changed he welding on the tank because of it.  If you're in the US and within two years of your purchase date you should be under warranty.

Scott

[barenekd]

Mine cracked because the mounting bolt came loose. I could've had it warranteed, but no guarantee on how long it would take to get a tank, so I just got it welded for $20. I did have to do the flushing and such to get it for that price! But I was riding in short order!
Bare

[Ducati Scotty]

And a weld or a braze is what's needed to fix it.  Any kind of putty is just going to break loose and the weld continues to fatigue. 

Scott

[barenekd]

Getting it heliarced is best. That keeps the surrounding paint damage to a minimum. I just had to touch up small area that is invisible from anywhere outside the bottom of the tank.
Gas welding or brazing would burn a lot more paint off.
Bare

[Ducati Scotty]

The spot welded hinge on Ducati tanks tends to crack through and start leaking on many models.  The general solution is to find a good shop to braze it without spoiling any visible paint so that you don't need to repaint the whole tank.  Welding isn't good for this since you tend to have several pin holes and it's better to seal and reinforce the whole area.  I did this and then just rattle canned the part that was under the seat.

Interestingly, the first shop wanted to dip the whole tank in caustic solution to get the gas out before they put a torch to it, understandable.  When I explained that it would remove all the paint and that was bad they told me there was no other way to do it.  They also said the brazing was going to peel most of the paint anyway.  I went to another shop across town (same chain) and they said no problem.  Only cleaned the inside of the tank, scorched a tiny spot of the paint that was all under the seat and nothing else. 

If you get it welded make sure you quiz the guy at the shop.  If you don't like what he's planning to do find another shop.  As bare said, heli-arc is probably best for these types of splits on the RE.

Scott

[hortoncode3]

So..my tank is in limbo at the moment. My guy at The Daily Rider has taken pix of the issue and forwarded it to RE. The sticky wicket is that I bought the bike as a 2 year hold over and have had it 2 years...a request was made to supply manufacture date (March 09) and the Serial number so I guess that's a plus? My guy looks at welding as an option, but not a good one. It may be just trading one set of cracks/pinholes for another set. He's thinking Kreme, and that's my thought too...
I did a little cruise around Hitchcocks and they don't sell a G5 military tank. I can get it in every color BUT Olive. SIGH. Matching this paint has been a bitch too....
To get it on the road I bought a C5 Military tank off a wreck. It's dented and chipped but it holds gas. I was assured it'll fit, and it has a return policy if it doesn't. One way or another this bike is going to Maine at the end of the week...

[mattsz]

Not to change the subject, but...  Maine?

[jartist]

I would be very leery of using kreme in this application as the break is at a structural point where there will be more flexing and cracking if it's not fixed properly. I don't think anything short of welding or brazing will work here.

If you can get the new flange seamed tank you'll never have this happen again.

[Ducati Scotty]

+1.  Any liner product will leak again very soon as the crack confines to flex and grow.  You need to repair the metal first.  If you're worried about pinholes you can cost the tank afterward but it needs serious repair first.  If you're in the US warranty is to the original purchaser only for two years from date of sale, regardless of when the bike was made.

Good luck!

S Ott